The Role of Lipids in Vanilla Beans and their Transformation during Curing

By: Patrick Dunphy and Krishna Bala

Posted: January 30, 2014, from the February 2014 issue of P&F magazine.

Examination of the composition of the key aroma chemicals in cured vanilla beans reveals a collection of molecules dominated by phenolic compounds. The analysis conducted by Perez-Silva et al. identified 24 key aroma active compounds from extracts of cured Mexican vanilla beans, of which 13 were phenolic.1 In addition, two C4 deoxy compounds and five short-chain fatty acids, including straight-chain even- and odd-number acids and branched chain equivalents, were also important.

This is only an excerpt of the full article that appeared in P&F Magazine. The full content is not currently available online.